Just how many health violations does a restaurant you love have to receive before you turn your back on it? Should that number have some sort of correlation with the number of dishes you like? Is the line crossed when the restaurant is able to plaster the entirety of their walk-in fridge with all the citations? Or is the point of no return when there are more violations than there are chefs with tattoos in the world?
Whatever the case may be, it’s a question we’re sure many-a-person in Tampa, Fla. is asking. Brocato’s Sandwich Shop—a family-owned restaurant that has been a Tampa staple since 1948—has done what many would consider to be impossible by racked up a staggering 226 health violations from February 2015 to January 2016.
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A local ABC affiliate revealed that the restaurant has been cited by health inspectors so often that they’ve faced both administrative complaints and orders to stop selling food.
The casual restaurant, described as a “raucous roadhouse of a sandwich joint,” is known for its Cuban sandwich and devil crabs, which is a crab-meat croquette favored in Tampa. The list of infractions includes all of the following: food stored at dangerous temperatures, cracked tiles, no employee hand washing signs, no soap in the bathroom, unsealed concrete, food improperly dated and marked, and mold in the ice machine.
Although it is hard to say whether Brocato’s Sandwich Shop is indeed the restaurant with the most citations ever—largely because health regulation of restaurants in the US is a matter of local government—we can put the numbers in a bit of perspective. In 2015, the restaurant with the most health citations in the city of Los Angeles took that record with 77 violations. And, in the first eleven months of 2015, Boston restaurants—all of them—faced a total of 1,181 failed violations. This all goes to show that 226 violations for one restaurant is a pretty big number.
Owner Michael Brocato claims the restaurant has corrected some of the problems but that it is also undertaking renovations that will correct other problems. He attributes many of the violations to the age of the restaurant: It has been operating in the same building since 1948. Brocato told the Tampa Bay Times, “It’s not a dirty restaurant, and I have nothing to hide.”
“Through the years, we have always had an open door/open kitchen policy,” Brocato said in a statement, “Customers can see the kitchen and watch their food being prepared while they wait for their order.”
But with 226 health violations—and a history of violations for years—this is a kitchen you may not want to examine too closely.
